In the case of semiconductor devices, a lack of adhesion between a system carrier and the plastics composition has the effect that moisture accumulates in the boundary layer between the system carrier and plastics composition. This moisture expands abruptly if the semiconductor device is heated from room temperature to temperatures of up to 260° C. within a very short time when being soldered onto a printed circuit board. The abrupt expansion of the moisture content results in cracks and/or fractures in the plastic housing of the semiconductor device, which is referred to as the “popcorn effect”.
In order to prevent this popcorn effect, it is desired to prevent the accumulation of moisture in the boundary layer between the semiconductor device components and plastics composition. The accumulation of moisture can be reduced by improving the adhesion between the surfaces of the semiconductor device components and the surface of the plastics composition. Various approaches are known for improving the adhesion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,569 discloses a method for mechanically roughening the surface of a flat conductor leadframe. The roughened surface enables an interlocking with the plastics composition and hence a better adhesion. However, this method is difficult and cost-intensive to carry out.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,036 discloses a method by which the surface regions of electrical connection elements of semiconductor device components of a semiconductor device that are to be kept free of a protective film within a plastics composition can be kept free prior to the assembly of the components, in which case the protective film may have silicon nitrides, silicon oxides, silicon carbides and/or diamond-like carbon.
Document DE 101 24 047 discloses an electronic device with semiconductor chips and system carriers, and also methods for producing the same, a metallic system carrier having an electrodeposited adhesion layer made of metal oxides, in particular the metals zinc and chromium, with formation of a dendritic morphology. This device and the production method have the disadvantage that such a dendritic morphology can be produced by electrodeposition exclusively on metallic surfaces, so that this adhesion promoter layer cannot be produced for semiconductor device components such as system carriers made of ceramic or printed circuit board material without prior coating with a short-circuiting but metallically conductive layer.
The document DE 102 21 503 discloses a metal object which is partially provided with nanopores in a surface section and can be used as connection, carrying or conduction component for a semiconductor device. In this case, the nanopores in surface regions of the metal object improve the adhesion to a plastics composition of a semiconductor device. This known object also has the disadvantage that an improvement of the adhesion can only be effected on surfaces of metals and cannot be used for different materials of semiconductor device components of a semiconductor device.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.